Comedyworks’ closing comes as a shock to many

The city may be a comedy wonderland, but it can’t accommodate patrons of the downtown Comedyworks, according to its boss. An institution for more than 24 years in Montreal, the Comedyworks closed its doors Friday.

Jimbo Skomorowski, the Comedyworks founder/proprietor, cited mounting debts as the culprit for the immediate closure. More specifically, he pinned the problem on the lack of parking in the downtown core.

“Condos are going up like crazy, and as a result, there are fewer and fewer parking lots and, as a result of that, fewer and fewer places to park on the street,” noted Skomorowski, whose club is located on one of the busiest downtown stretches, Bishop St. between Ste-Catherine St. and René-Lévesque Blvd.

“Saturday nights used to be our best night, with much of our business coming in from the suburbs. But now they don’t come any more because they just can’t find parking. We’ve had to rely on students and tourists, but that hasn’t come close to covering our costs.”

In addition to the Comedyworks, Skomorowski also ran the downstairs Jimbo’s Pub. It, too, closed as of Friday.

Many of the biggest stars in the business performed at the club over the years. Before they were household names, Louis C.K., Lewis Black, Bobby Slayton, Ray Romano and Dom Irerra made regular appearances there. As well, the club served as a launch pad for an array of local talent: Joey Elias, Eman, DeAnne Smith, Heidi Foss, Mike Paterson, Ali Hassan, among many others.

It was a traditional standup club, favoured by both comedians and audiences who enjoyed its intimacy. The Comedyworks flourished during Just for Laughs, when performers like Aziz Ansari and Tommy Tiernan would head there to test out their new festival material. And even though Just for Laughs is less than a month away, Skomorowski felt he just couldn’t wait to handle his mounting debt load.

“I just can’t gamble even four more weeks. I’ve been losing money steadily every week,” explained Skomorowski, who was renting the Comedyworks and Jimbo’s. “This had to stop. It breaks my heart. And it’s awful that longtime employees are losing their jobs.”

Skomorowski, who employed three full-time and five part-time workers, claimed his downward spiral was several years in the making.

“It started back in 2012. The student strike didn’t help. But, mostly, it seemed like the city didn’t want cars downtown and then with all the construction of new condos, all the parking spots vanished. And so did my suburban customers.”

Skomorowski insisted the decision to close had nothing to do with the competition. The only remaining, full-time anglo comedy venue in town is the Comedy Nest in the old Forum — which does have underground parking facilities.

“The problem for me is that I have a small room that can hold only 100 people. But if I can’t fill it, I’m in trouble. Particularly when people decide they don’t want the hassle of driving downtown any longer.

“This is the same dilemma they had with Yuk Yuk’s in the Rialto. Customers couldn’t find parking on Parc Ave.,” said Skomorowski, in reference to the Montreal Yuk Yuk’s, which closed last year after only a few months in operation. “I’m going to miss this place like crazy. But there’s just too many obstacles: crazy high business taxes and a huge overhead, which just couldn’t get covered any longer.”

The club will be much missed by patrons but, particularly, by comics.

“Shocking,” lamented veteran Montreal comic Joey Elias, when informed of the club’s closing. “The history of that room alone is extraordinary, when you think of all the comics who started there. I got my first festival audition there, which got me into Just for Laughs. One of my favourite memories of all time was opening for Tommy Tiernan there.

“What was special about the Works was that it was one of the last old-school comedy clubs with the brick wall and all the photos of comedians on another wall. Even though there was no smoking, it was still a little smoky. Most important, it was just great for providing stage time for local comics: with the Open Mic nights, the improv troupes, the weekly Mike Paterson show. This will really hurt.”

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